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Lelwani or Leluwani was a Hittite deity of the underworld of Hattic origin. While originally regarded as male and addressed as a "king," due to influence of
Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Me ...
beliefs on the Hittites, Lelwani started to be viewed as female in later periods.


Gender and syncretism

Lelwani was originally a male Hattic chthonic god incorporated into Hittite religion, referred to as "lord" and "king" ( Hattic: ''katte'', logographically:
LUGAL Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' "𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state could ...
-''uš''). However, due to syncretism with female deities during the period of growing
Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Me ...
influence on Hittite state religion, Lelwani started to be regarded as a goddess instead. The change happened no later than during the reign of
Ḫattušili III Hattusili III ( Hittite: "from Hattusa") was king of the Hittite empire (New Kingdom) c. 1267–1237 BC (short chronology timeline)., pp.xiii-xiv Early life and family Much of what is known about the childhood of Hattusili III is gathered from ...
. An early attestation of this phenomenon is known from a text attributed to queen
Puduḫepa Puduḫepa or Pudu-Kheba (fl. 13th century BC) was a Hittite queen, her companion being the King Hattusili III. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East." Biography Early life and marriage ...
. Allatum, originally the Akkadian form of the name of the Hurrian underworld goddess Allani, could denote Lelwani in Hittite texts. However, Hurrian Allani and Mesopotamian
Ereshkigal In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( sux, , lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Some ...
were associated with the Hittite and
Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fam ...
Sun goddess of the Earth The Sun goddess of the Earth ( Hittite: ''taknaš dUTU'', Luwian: tiyamaššiš Tiwaz) was the Hittite goddess of the underworld. Her Hurrian equivalent was Allani and her Sumerian/Akkadian equivalent was Ereshkigal, both of which had a marked ...
rather than Lelwani. Additionally, Allani and Lelwani coexisted as separate deities in god lists and in rituals, with Allani's name written logographically as EREÅ .KI.GAL and Lelwani's as ''Allatum''. The Hattian and Hittite underworld deities, such as Lelwani, were not regarded as analogous to the Hurrian ''enna amatenna'', so-called "ancestral gods" or "former gods" who inhabited the underworld, even though similar Hittite terms could be applied to both groups.


Functions

Lelwani's primary function was that of the ruler of the underworld. It is assumed that as such he was responsible for determining human lifespans alongside the fate goddesses. It has been proposed that an analogous association between Allani and the fate goddesses
Hutena and Hutellura Hutena and Hutellura (also spelled Hudena and Hudellura; ''ḫdn ḫdlr'' in alphabetic Ugaritic texts) were goddesses of fate and divine midwives in Hurrian mythology. Number An unresolved problem in scholarship is the number of goddesses refe ...
is the reason behind their association in Hurrian sources. A variety of secondary functions are attributed to her in Hittite texts. Annals of
Tudhaliya Tudhaliya is the name of several Hittite kings: *Tudhaliya (also Tudhaliya I) is a hypothetic pre-Empire king of the Hittites. He would have reigned in the late 17th century BC ( short chronology). Forlanini (1993) conjectures that this king corres ...
indicate that Lelwani was also one of the deities assumed to accompany rulers during military campaigns; in a number of prayers she is considered capable of granting long life and good health; palace officials swore oaths in her name to guarantee they will perform their tasks correctly.


Worship

Lelwani was worshiped during festivals associated with the so-called ''ḫešta''-house, to which the priest of this deity was attached. One example of such a celebration was ''purulli'', described in the Hittite text CTH 645. Much like Lelwani, it had Hattic origin. While it was connected to the renewal of life in spring, the invoked deities were linked to the underworld and in addition to Lelwani included the Hittite Šiwat (or Izzištanu in Hattic), a deity representing "Propitious Day," an euphemism for the last day of a person's life, the fate goddesses Ištuštaya and Papaya, Urunzimu, who was the cthtonic aspect of the
Sun goddess of Arinna The Sun goddess of Arinna, also sometimes identified as Arinniti or as Wuru(n)šemu, is the chief goddess and companion of the weather god Tarḫunna in Hittite mythology. She protected the Hittite kingdom and was called the "Queen of all lands." ...
, and deities represented by the logogram U.GUR, among others. In a ritual performed in relation to the construction of a new royal palace Lelwani was invoked alongside
Hašamili Hasameli (also Hašamili) was the Hittite god of metalworkers and craftsmen. Associated with smoke, he is called on by Mursili II in his Annals to encircle and cloak him that he be concealed from his enemy in a covert assault. He may be related ...
, the blacksmith of the gods. Queen
Puduḫepa Puduḫepa or Pudu-Kheba (fl. 13th century BC) was a Hittite queen, her companion being the King Hattusili III. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East." Biography Early life and marriage ...
prayed to Lelwani to secure long, healthy lives for her family, as evidenced by the text KUB 21.27(+) III 31-38.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Hittite deities Hattian deities Underworld goddesses Underworld gods